Luna Innovations (NASDAQ:LUNA) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Luna Innovations (NASDAQ:LUNA)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $8.00 target price on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target indicates a potential upside of 186.23% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Luna Innovations from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.00.

Luna Innovations Stock Performance

Shares of LUNA stock opened at $2.80 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $94.92 million, a PE ratio of -34.94 and a beta of 1.40. Luna Innovations has a 52-week low of $1.91 and a 52-week high of $10.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Luna Innovations

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Luna Innovations by 60.6% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 2,023,242 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $6,484,000 after buying an additional 763,165 shares during the period. Skylands Capital LLC grew its position in Luna Innovations by 157.2% in the third quarter. Skylands Capital LLC now owns 210,003 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 128,350 shares during the period. AMH Equity Ltd increased its stake in Luna Innovations by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. AMH Equity Ltd now owns 1,619,778 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $10,772,000 after acquiring an additional 116,425 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Luna Innovations by 672.6% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 69,549 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 60,547 shares during the period. Finally, Avenir Corp lifted its stake in shares of Luna Innovations by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Avenir Corp now owns 221,180 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 57,700 shares during the last quarter. 87.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Luna Innovations

Luna Innovations Incorporated provides fiber optic test, measurement, and control products worldwide. The company offers test and measurement equipment for fiber optic components and sub-assemblies; polarization control products, including components, modules, and instruments to measure, manage, and control polarization and group delay in fiber optic networks; tunable lasers; and single frequency lasers.